Mayor asks supporters to donate toward her legal fees

More than a month after she was sworn into office, Mayor Jeri Muoio hasn’t closed her campaign account — in fact, she sent an e-mail to supporters this morning asking for donations to help pay for her ongoing legal fees from a lawsuit that questions her eligibility to run for mayor.

The lawsuit, filed by attorney Nikasha Wells after the election, was initially filed on behalf of several disenfranchised voters who were among the 224 residents who didn’t have an opportunity to vote because they were mistakenly labeled as county residents.

Wells, who briefly served as a consultant for former mayoral candidate Paula Ryan, later changed her strategy. Wells amended the lawsuit to challenge Muoio’s eligibility to run in the first place, saying she didn’t properly open her campaign account. Ryan eventually came out against the lawsuit, but said the plaintiffs had a right to file it.

While a judge refused to expedite the case and hear it before the inauguration (Wells wanted a new election before the swearing in date), the lawsuit is still pending and Muoio and her team have had to hire several attorneys.

“It’s very frustrating, and we don’t believe that we did anything wrong,” Muoio said.

Election law says a candidate can keep a campaign account open if he or she has a pending election related lawsuit.

“If I could, yeah,” said Muoio, when asked if she considered paying the fees out of pocket. “Of course I thought about that. (The fees) are pretty exorbitant and it’s something a candidate shouldn’t have to subject themselves to. It’s frivolous.”

Muoio said supporters asked her immediately after the election how they could help with her legal fees.

“People were coming up to me asking if there was anything they could do to help,” Muoio said.

Both the city and Muoio were named as defendants. Some of the fees will be paid for by the city, but Muoio is also personally responsible. Former Mayor Lois Frankel and Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher were also named as defendants, although Frankel said she won’t incur any personal fees because she was mayor at the time. Bucher said West Palm Beach will be responsible for her legal fees if she’s not found negligent. Otherwise, the Supervisor of Elections office will have to pay.

Muoio said she can’t legally ask the plaintiffs to drop the suit, although she’s spoken to third party people.

“We’ve talked to people who know them, friends and relatives, and we haven’t been able to convince them to withdraw it,” Muoio said. “If in fact there were any problems, which I don’t believe there were, what’s the remedy?”

Muoio said attorneys are working to have the case dismissed. Wells was not immediately available for comment.

Here’s Muoio’s letter to supporters this morning:

Dear Friends,

I would like to thank everyone for the support I have received, and am honored to be elected to serve as Mayor of West Palm Beach. Since being sworn in, I have been hard at work focusing on the budget and issues that matter to the residents and the city.

The Election Challenge: As the winning mayoral candidate of the March 8 Election I was named in a lawsuit that challenged my qualifications to run for Mayor. I have had to hire my own legal team to help me defend against this challenge. I want to assure you that election experts are telling us they are confident the lawsuit has no merit.

The Campaign Account Is Still Open: Due to the lawsuit, I will be keeping my campaign account open. Florida law allows for a candidate to keep their campaign account open for the purpose of accepting contributions and making expenditures associated with legal fees and costs of the election contest.

I Need Your Help: I need help to pay for the costs of defending my candidacy and to continue serving as Mayor. Please consider making a donation to my campaign account. Anything you can give would be greatly appreciated. Any individual, company or PAC can donate up to $500 and all funds raised will be used strictly for legal fees. Also, the limit applies to all previous donors that have already given. If you have already given the maximum please consider asking a family member or business contact to help me directly.

Thank you again for all your support. As things progress with the lawsuit, I will be sure to keep you informed. If you have any additional questions or need more information please don’t hesitate to contact me by email at Jeri@Jeri2011.com or by phone at (561) 689-9787.